Day 24 – Friday, August 29, 2025
The first task was to get my stuff dry again, so I waited for the sun to shine on my almost-dry clothes. I left at 9 am, and before leaving town, I wanted to make sure I could head back if needed. I found the main bus station and they confirmed they had a bus service to Patras that would take a bike.
Now I started thinking of the trip home. I wanted to be back by the 4th, but even better would be the 3rd. There was a ferry leaving for Venice from Patras on the evening of the 1st; it would sail for about 36 hours, arriving on the morning of the 3rd, from where I would need to figure out how to get to Vienna. As such, I made a “firm commitment” and bought a bus ticket from Kalamata to Patras for €25, leaving at 8:30 am on September 1st. This gave me three more days to explore “down under.”
Leaving the bus station, I rode through downtown, which was interesting but not remarkable. I declined to swim in the sea, planning to find a more suitable spot later.
I had to ride back to where I had started, on the western side of town, where the road veers south toward the tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. Ooh, this would be another road that would not be “for free.” It was quite busy at first, but traffic got lighter later – not so the ascents!
From afar, Kalamata looked beautiful: a white strip of houses at the foot of high mountains (which I had ridden from), and the blue of the sea sparkling in the sunshine.
Looking back at Kalamata
If you look at the map, the Peloponnese peninsula has three “fingers” from west to east: the Messenian, Mani, and Cape Malea peninsulas. I was now on the second one, the Mani peninsula. Towards the west, I glimpsed the Messenian peninsula. The Mani peninsula was challenging enough, with many mountains, including the famous Mount Taygetus.
One other "finger," the Messenian peninsula
My ride was a journey in time: I saw Mycenaean burial places, medieval castle ruins, and ancient churches, some even from the 11th century.
Mycenaean burial site
Right next to it, the remains of a medieval castle
An ancient church
The road initially veered through the middle of the peninsula; later, I reached the coast, where one view was more beautiful than the next. At one point, I reached a beach, descended to it, and went in for a refreshing swim.
A beauty...
Reminded me of Corsica
So scenic...
I could not imagine not going in for a swim
I started quite late and had a challenging terrain behind me, having done only 60 kilometres when I reached a small church with open doors. Most of the churches I wanted to visit were closed, so I went inside. It had beautiful wall paintings and frescoes – the origins of this church date back 1,000 years!
A 1,000-year-old church...
...with ancient wall paintings
Opposite the church was an otherwise empty restaurant where charcoal was being prepared. The owner pointed out that there was one more church just a few feet away – this one newer but just as charming. I later learned that the restaurant was called “The Good Heart” – I did not know this back then but could feel it. It was only 7 pm, and I had planned to make more distance (the road had finally levelled out) – but I did not care. There was one more thing to put icing on the cake: I asked whether I could pitch my tent – certainly, next to the 1,000-year-old church, no issues. Deal!
I was now in for a surprise. I only saw the bottom floor of the restaurant and was told to go to the deck upstairs. And what a view! I could see the setting sun over the Messenian peninsula, painting a golden bridge on the water. And the food! I ordered grilled lambchops, Greek salad, and saganaki – it was really, really delicious – washed down with a glass of white wine. Amazing dinner!
Amazing lambchops
Inside the newer church
After dinner, I set up my tent, brushed my teeth, and after a bit of a walk, retired for the night.
Over a distance of 62 km, I gained 1,238 m of altitude.